Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers

Kathy: How My Job Has Changed Me

 

My new job sure has changed me.

First, a little history. I was home raising my children for quite a while; my last full-time teaching  position was in 1984. I did some part-time work in between but mostly was at home. I have a 25-year-old son, 23-year-old daughter, and 13-year-old son. I was married for 25 years when my husband decided a young woman from work looked better to him. I was devastated, to say the least. I had to sell the house, help the kids through the trauma, and finally get a job. So at 51, here I am, returning to the workforce.

The job has changed me because I realize “I can do it!” For starters, I have much experience with children and my own daughter with disabilities. And even though my formal education took place years ago, I remember more than I thought I would.

I still love to learn and am catching up on the many changes that have since occurred in the field of special education. I love the CEC SmartBrief that is delivered daily to my e-mail inbox. I have even printed out some articles to keep in my files for future ideas. I ask questions, lots of questions. As an “older” educator I don’t mind questioning the system. As a parent myself I can relate to the parents of my students.

Jennifer: Real-Life Learning

When I am teaching, it is usually easy to break down topics into bite-sized pieces that my students can understand. Reading, for example, is relatively simple to break down once I recognize which sounds or blends are giving them trouble. And math is fun because, once I figure out which step is challenging them, I can pull out that one step and come up with all sorts of games and activities to focus on it until my students are ready to pick up the math program where they left off.

But then there is science . . . yikes. My students have been learning about atoms, elements, compounds, the whole shebang. We read the book chapters together, we studied the parts, we conducted the experiments, we tested the vocabulary. But after two weeks, my students still looked right through me. I would ask them what an atom is, and a couple of them would try to explain to me that it is a man in the Bible. No joke.

Katie: Easing Transitions

With the new semester comes a new challenge: looming transitions. Next fall my students, both the children with autism and those without, will move on to another preschool program or to Kindergarten, depending on need (I wish we could keep them forever!).

This is a difficult transition for any family, I think. All parents want their children to thrive in their education and be prepared for their future. My goal is to assist all my parents in making the best decision for their child and family. Of course, having a child with an exceptionality makes this decision all the more challenging.

I want to make sure that I am doing all I can to provide parents with useful information and help guide them through the decision-making process. How best to do this? I’d like to ask all of you for guidance as I embark on my own decision-making process.

Ellen: Overwhelmed

She told me

once that the
year she went
to England
she painted
all her buttons
yellow so
she would remember
what the
sun felt like.

(Brian Andreas)

This is my third year as a teacher of young students with cognitive disabilities and it has been the toughest one by far. Not the teaching part—I love sharing in the learning process and helping my students make discoveries about themselves, their environment, and so much more. It’s the “everything else” part that’s so tough.

I’m not even talking about writing IEPs. I’m not going to say it’s my most preferred activity (the computer program we have here in Virginia makes it arduous sometimes), but I know that I’m doing it to shape my students’ entire learning trajectory in a powerful way. Some of the plans come together like lovingly made mittens at this point and it’s very satisfying.

I’m drained by the politics. Not petty lunchroom stuff, but top-down stuff. I’m frustrated by what I perceive to be a lack of accountability for teachers who aren’t making things work and a lack of support for teachers who are. It’s difficult for me to be an advocate for my students when I feel that my school’s practices are sometimes not in their best interests.

Jennifer: The Effect of a Single Teacher

I originally had an entirely different blog in mind, but just like in special education, life has its way of forcing us to be flexible, especially in unfortunate circumstances.

Early this week I was informed that a professor who mentored me through my credential and master’s program—and beyond—had passed away. I was amazed at the effect this had on me, and I have come to realize that if there is anything to encourage a teacher to stay positive and passionate no matter what, it is the example set by a single teacher who did just that.

Jeanne was a tremendous life force to so many people. Always on the cutting edge of research and technology’s impact on education, she was involved in projects that improved the lives of children with disabilities while simultaneously and enthusiastically teaching and inspiring us to do the same. She was the kind of person who did not just visit us and teach us because it was what she was paid to do…it was her passion. She took us under her wing and shared everything she could with us. She gave us her love for this field.